Need some help decoding the forward door jam data plate on my '81.  Seems none of the codes stamped on the data plate match codes I see listed in the Black Book (and other tables found on web sites). 

Now, I'll be the first to admit that the plate does not look original - more like a replacement.  And if it is a replacement, I've considered the fact there may be errors.  But I want to figure out what the original data is on my car.  Here is a pic of the dataplate.  Any help is greatly appreciated.


Jeff S.

B = 81
08 = August
A = 1st week of month (Aug)

64I = Camel leather (some BG built '81 cars have the letter "I" instead of "2")
14L/14U should be paint color, but I have nothing on this code either.(is this 14, or 74? I can't see well enough to determine) 74 is listed as Dark Bronze, but usually as a two-tone. It is possible the car was ordered and built as a Dark Bronze, single color car. Stanger things have happened.

This is definitely a Bowling Green built car, built in the third month of production at BG. It would have been built the first or second day of August. The trim tag looks like a factory BG tag to me. Why do you suspect it has been replaced?

The car has definitely been painted. I can see the paint on the trim tag from where it was masked off.

The second code is 74L.  Assumed most of the current paint was original.  The hood was damaged by a truck and replaced with one from an earlier vette (still has the L-82 lettering on the hood, which obviously does not apply to '81).  The hood was painted to match and this may account for some of the overspray.  I guess I need to scratch some paint to check for color changes/layering.  My paint color does not look to be Dark Bronze, more metallic maroon.

The paint codes are designated as U for the Upper color and L for the Lower color (in your case 74L and 74U).

I think the "E" was for the enamel paint, but don't quote me on that. Earlier(St. Louis built) cars were laquer.

I saw some red/burgandy paint also on the kick panel trim there. That's one of the reasons I believe the car has been painted.
Before you start "scratching" on it, try this...take the sill plate off of one side, and look under it for a hint to the original color. Another good place to look is behind the door panels, and even under the t-top pads("headliners"), unless it is a glass top. These are places that normally wouldn't get painted on a respray. Most places will just mask off around the area.

Since this is a Bowling Green-built car, you can get a copy of the build sheet from the NCM. It will have the original color of the car on the build sheet. Adams' Apple2006-10-11 19:07:30

Thanks for all the info - it's a big help.  And I'll be looking for evidence of a repaint in hidden areas like you mentioned.